Discovered that the introduction of piano keyboarding into elementary school music instruction produced a positive effect regarding children's sentiment towards school. No discernible effect was revealed concerning memory skills. Includes statistical data and description of survey questionnaires. (MJP)

These designers approaches their physics lesson design task from the viewpoint of play. The designs, all having strong gaming influences, aim to be flexible enough to take advantage of the experience and ideas of a teacher working with a standard curriculum, yet interesting enough for students to want to continue exploring resources on their own…

A study involving 17 children (ages 12-15) who had established school refusal found the children's individual protective factors were weakened (particularly around peers), and parents' own difficulties not only reduced the family as a source of protection but exerted an actual drain upon already reduced coping resources. (Contains references.) (CR)

Grade point average for residence hall freshmen (N=1,167; 52%male, 90% white, 74% in-state) is related significantly to precollege characteristics (high school rank, gender, ethnicity, parental education, divorced/separated parents, self-perception of abilities, expectation of honors or changing major) and environmental variables (learning…

Essential components in second-language teaching include motivating students, teaching in the target language, using a language-management system, accepting interlanguage in the early stages, emphasizing vocabulary, teaching function and grammar, consulting Canada's National Core French Study to understand and deliver the latest programs, and…

Discusses student learning behavior in two history classes. Suggests that many students do not understand the culture of college and inadvertently violate simple rules for success. Asserts that many students lack the knowledge of how to be successful in an academic environment and would benefit from a course serving as an "On-The-Job Professional…

Describes a study of students at the Open University of Hong Kong that investigated gender differences in factors that contributed to successful achievement in distance education. Considers previous experience; study habits; motivation; help-seeking and use of support services; family, social, and work context; self-perceptions and attitudes.…

This study examined hands-on experiences in the context of an investigation of viruses and explored how and why hands-on experiences may be effective. We sought to understand whether or not touching and manipulating materials and objects could lead to a deeper, more effective type of knowing than that we obtain from sight or sound alone. Four…

Urban high school students want their schools to provide academic courses and extracurricular activities that challenge and interest them. Too often, however, these students chafe against "a system that shuts them off rather than recognizing and developing their potential," writes Cushman. In her conversations with 65 students across the…

In this article, the authors report on a new type of case study, called real-time case method (RTCM), which was produced and taught at four business schools. This new method of developing cases was applied in a course on entrepreneurship. The authors describe it and evaluate its effectiveness. RTCM was conducted over the course of one university…

Some schools across the country have recently reduced the time and frequency that students spend participating in physical education. During the school day children spend considerably more time sitting and listening than they do moving and being physically active. Devoting more time to academics may be producing more knowledgeable and academically…

One theoretical approach for increasing intrinsic motivation for reading consists of teachers using situational interest to encourage the development of long-term individual interest in reading. The authors investigated that possibility by using stimulating tasks, such as hands-on science observations and experiments, to increase situational…

In the present political climate, politicians are singling out children's programs and services for budget cuts. The need for teacher education programs to prepare early childhood teachers as children's advocates is becoming ever more evident. For years, the National Association for the Education of Young Children has called for greater…

In this article, the author explores computer gaming preferences of girls through observations of a games club at an all-girl state school in the United Kingdom. The author argues that gaming tastes are alterable and site specific. Gaming preferences certainly relate to the attributes of particular games, but they will also depend on the player's…

This article describes a classroom technique for improving the writing skills of EFL university students who have chosen English as their major for pursuing future careers as translators from and into English. The technique in question, designed for a creative writing course aimed at such students, was based on: (a) the combination of process and…